knowledge has no horizons

"I have travelled across the length and breath of India and I have not seen one person who is a beggar, who is a thief. Such wealth I have seen in this country, such high moral values, people of such calibre that I do not think we would ever conquer this country, unless we break the very backbone of this nation, which is her spiritual and cultural heritage and therefore I propose that we replace her old and ancient education system, her culture, for if the Indians think that all that is foreign and English is good and greater than their own, they will lose their self-esteem, their native culture and they will become what we want them, a truly dominated nation".

And thanks for those that (try and) continue in all the ways to break the very backbone of this nation (click on http://dhanabalakrishnan.blogspot.com/2008/03/not-for-nothing-is-culture-good-thing.html)

Can you imagine a Tamil movie without a heroine, duet songs with her in foreign countries changing the dresses and locations? Unnaippol Oruvan hit the screens against audience’s imagination on 18, September. A remake of Hindi film The Wednesday, the movie is yet another hit for Kamal Haasan after Vettaiyadu Vilaiyadu and Dasavatharam, but this time with a message – terrorism is the only means of getting rid of terrorism.

Impossible is written in the dictionary of fools. Probably Kamal Haasan might believe in that. He enables to shoot the full film in an open-space construction-stopped building and in a confined commissioner office, not allowing many more outdoor shootings from the beginning to the end. A not-more-than-two hour film, it starts as a flashback of Mohan Lal, standing in the beach. Kamal Haasan claims to have set bombs in the important parts of the city and threatens to blast them, if his demand of releasing the four terrorists involved in coimbatore blasting and others is given a deaf ear. It is the concern of the concerned. Mohan Lal is the concerned and asks for assistance from the home secretary – Lakshmi – who is given full power to decide on the situation by the CM, who in turn to the commissioner Mohan Lal. Mohan Lal found no other go rather than yielding to Kamal Haasan’s demands, while trying to trace the location of the place where Kamal Haasan executes his plans over the phone. Four were released and three boarded in a jeep. To the surprise of Mohan Lal came the explosion of the jeep, and then the fourth to be shot dead. The question ‘Why’ is the rest of the story.

Mohan Lal’s interaction, and sometimes altercations, with Lakshmi pictures the top-level tensions in a perspicuous manner over such issues. Ganesh Venkat Ram and Bharat Reddy ask for applause. Voice of the Tamil Nadu CM dubbed and showing Lakshmi getting in the car from the house of the CM add originality to the film. The cigarette smoking lady reporter and IIT drop out deserve praise here.

Kamal Haasan puts forth a concept of terrorism as a means to root out the terrorism. He points his finger at all the existing criteria in the nation for punishing criminals and terrorists. He seeks to clarify a number of logical questions in the films and makes the audience eventually expect his questions not to be evaded.

Sreeman’s visit to the commissioner office seeking z security from Mohan Lal and certain other scenes – though have no connection with the main story – enable to get a clear glimpse of the character of Mohan Lal in the very beginning. Hats off to the dialogue writer – Ra. Murugan – for his writing such dialogues that flow naturally between the scenes. He made sure to add satirical elements that obviously fulfill the intentions, while, at the same time, ensuring the audience laugh at them.

Shruti Haasan made her debut as music director; as this is her maiden attempt, any shortfalls in the film related to music can simply be excused for this reason. Manoj Soni’s camera thrills the viewers with movements. Rameshwar Bhagawat’s editing makes the feel of enjoying a complete film.

Kamal Haasan again seems to suffer the fate of the hero belonging to A-centre people. Of course, it is pathetic to note that the common man – Kamal Haasan used to refer himself – fails to reach the common men. It is undoubtedly a good film, but reaching the ‘A’ centre as usual of most of his films. Kamal Haasan might have concentrated on the minimum usage of English conversation between characters, but not with the cost of reality.

In short, nothing to be mentioned on the negative side. A good film worth watching it. DON’T MISS IT.

“United we stand; divided we fall” will probably be the apt adage for the BJP at present. Being the main opposition party in India that challenged the century-old Congress right from its inception in 1980, it now suffers a lot from internal bickering and infightings within the party. Despite the fact that it was just a 3-years-old political party when it faced the parliamentary election in 1984, it could send two members to represent it in parliament. The 1989 election came as an astounding surprise for the national parties as it reaped a good number of 89 seats, and in 1991 with yet another astonishing win securing 121 seats, it had all reasons to believe to win the people’s mandates to form government in the centre. It came true in the 1996 elections, Atal Bihari Vaypayee being the prime minister.

What went in the past was good for the BJP and what was thought only for the sake of it. Vajpayee going out of the active political scene, things in BJP started to turn upside down. Internal bickering and infighting began to sprout in all of its forms from all the sides. They are not started with the expulsion of Jaswant Singh on August 19 from the party, as one may think, for extolling Jinnah in his book. It had it roots even before the parliamentary election over the context of next prime ministerial candidate. Albeit Advani being announced the official candidate to the chair of prime minister – Advani is, of course and obviously, the senior-most leader in BJP after Vaypayee – there were shouts among the party itself for Narendra Modi to be announced the apt one. Veteran BJP leader and the former vice-president Shekhawat’s wish for the same post is, too, worth mentioning here. The public spat between the party leader, Rajnath Singh, and the party secretary, Arun Jaitley, have done enough harm to the party in the elections. What is pathetic is that the BJP let smother the animosities, albeit not outwardly, between them yet. (Reason for the BJP’s debacle in the election, click http://dhanabalakrishnan.blogspot.com/2009/05/congress-reaped-good-harvest-whereas.html)

A man who is committing a mistake and does not correct it is committing another mistake, and it is applicable to political parties, too. BJP lost enough in the elections simply by virtue of party infightings, along with some other causes. Instead of inquiring into the infightings that took place in pre-elections, it brought forth internal bickering anew and brought into the political fore. Rajasthan might be the place that BJP don’t want. Vasunthara Raje, Jaswant Singh and, now the ex-vice president Shekhawat are all in the row, causing squabbles and tussles in the party. Raje, the then chief minister of Rajasthan, was set the target of BJP’s first victim. Bidding her to step down from the position of opposition leader of Rajasthan assemble was to no avail. Her supporters thronged Advani’s house, demanding the party chief to withdraw from their stand. The party was on fire, which resulted in the suspension of two MLAs considered to be Raje’s loyalists.

The next fell a victim was the army general-turned CM of Uttarakhand, Bhuvan Chandra Khanduri, who had to quit from his chair when the former chief minister Bhagat Singh Koshiyari bayed for his blood after BJP washed out in the state in the parliamentary election and resigned his Rajya Saba insisting on his resignation. Koshiyari’s demand was heard of and Khanduri stepped down.

That a figure of prominence falling a victim on the grounds of the party’s disciplinary action is the man who ornamented the NDA regime, serving as the External Minister and a Finance Minister for a while is Jaswant Singh. He might not have thought that writing a book eulogizing the Pakistan founder, Jinnah, would let in his political career drastic and adverse effects. Jaswant Singh is not Advani in the party, and this despite the fact, the latter’s visit to Pakistan and his consequent appreciating comments on Jinnah at his memorial asked for a lot of argle-bargle and altercations within the party and made him to be meekly submissive to the RSS. The party has got its guts for garters by expelling Singh out of the party for the same cause – praising Jinnah – now in a book.

The party infightings got a new shape when another senior leader and the former minister Arun Shourie called in an interview to the NDTV the BJP president Rajnath ‘Alice in blunderland’ and the party a ‘kite without a string’ after the expulsion of Jaswant Singh. Albeit ‘unexpected’ is the remark as BJP itself opined of his opinion, the remark came not without a reason. Shourie openly asked for change in the leadership level and pointed out that RSS should rebuild the party.

None might have thought that Kulkarni would turn against the party. His decision to step out the party comes on the grounds of ideological differences, though. It has had it roots from Jaswant’s book and the forthwith expulsion. He didn’t find himself disturbed to tell in his interview to the Times Now that ‘it is not proper for an individual to remain inside the party and express his views’ and assert Singh’s expulsion a ‘graceless’ action. He couldn’t find any difference in the remarks on Jinnah expressed by Advani and Jaswant Singh, he added.

Now it is the turn for the former vice-president Shekhawat to come to rescue for the expelled leader Jaswant Singh. "The way Jaswant was treated was not good. There is a need to praise his book," this came after the expelled leader called on him at his home, and this meeting happened on the pretext of inquiring Shekhawat’s health. He never failed to express his concern over the increasing indiscipline in the party and the fall in the standards.

Expulsion and suspension are coming at ease in BJP. The month of June witnessed the expulsion of Himachal Pradesh senior leader, Dulo Ram, on the grounds of allegedly indulging in anti-party activities. Suspension of the Delhi leader Lal Chand Mehraulia on disciplinary grounds led the Delhi BJP activists to urge their leaders to reinstate him.

It is natural for national parties to have infightings and internal bickering: Congress suffered from this a lot in the past and at present in certain states like Tamil Nadu and Kerala: One may not forget the same in the Left parties recently. But what the BJP should take to mind and remember is that is no use in expelling or suspending – simply on the disciplinary grounds – but sorting the causes of infightings out and rooting them out.

“Andhra Pradesh has lost an outstanding leader and the country has lost an ideal Chief Minister who was a role model for other States”, this panegyric came as a condolence message from the Prime Minister over the unexpected and instantaneous demise of the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y. Rajasekara Reddy. Of course, he is worth the note.

Born in a Christian family in 1949 in Pulivendula, a small town in Kadappa district to middle-class parents, he might have never thought of ruling the state. His unquenchable interest in politics brought him into active politics at the premature age of 27, and two years later took him to the AP legislative assembly as a young member. Of course, he was quick to grow a man of the masses in his state. His charismatic figure took him easily to the people, and being a practitioner he was good at feeling the pulse of them.

His electoral history has never ever experienced a setback. His successive wins in the Lok Saba elections from Kadapa constituency for four times and in the assembly elections from his home constituency Pulivendula for continuously six times earned him a good name among the top congress partymen. Added laurels to his head as MLA and MP, he also served his state as a minister holding important portfolios as Rural Development, Medical Health and Education, and served the party at the behest of Indira Gandhi as the President of Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee from 1983 to 1985 just at the age of 34 and from 1998 to 2000. Registered his name as the first man in AP legislative history to enjoy full five-year term as the Chief Minister, he took party to a good win both in the legislative and parliamentary elections, gaining 156 out of 294 to form government under his head with absolute majority in his state and contributing 33 out of 42 from his state to form UPA coalition government in the Centre, respectively. Indeed, Congress has reason to consider him the mascot of the party.

Reddy was a man of his words; his challenge of throwing TDP out of power got realized with a tremendous win for the Congress party, gaining 185 seats in the 2004 election. His long around 1,500-kilometre padayatra (journey by foot) through almost all parts of Andhra Pradesh made him acquainted with people and their grievances, longings and expectations, which, one could opine, formulated the governance of his first five-year term in office. The 2009 election came to him as a test to prove his competence, as he had to face new rivalry – apart from the already-existing one from the TDP – from the newly emerged party of Chiranjeevi, and he proved it with a win. He differed from his rival, Naidu, by turning his eyes on the villages and farmers and did a lot for the development of them, like free electricity supply, health insurance scheme and construction of houses for rural masses, and others. Andhra hoped yet to receive from him many, but to their dismal comes the demise of him.